DAVIE ST, VANCOUVER—A newly opened Safeway Store in Vancouver’s West End has made history today by becoming the world’s first grocery store to be visible from space.
The new 44,000 sq. ft. store at 1641 Davie St comes complete with an extravagant light display comprising of over 1 billion green LED lights that illuminates the entire street as well as approximately 15 square blocks.
At 3:52 AM PST on Thursday morning astronauts aboard the International Space Station reported seeing a “piercing green light” emanating from the Pacific Northwest. Upon closer inspection NASA were able to determine the light was in fact coming from the new Safeway (49°28’57″90°N, 123°13’89″10°E), becoming only the second human made creation to be visible from outside the earth’s atmosphere.
At the official unveiling, which blinded 37 people, Safeway CEO Michael Murphy stated that “this is a proud day for not only Safeway but for the entire Davie Village Community! This is as much for all of you as it is for us.”
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Kevin Sterling (36) who has lived opposite the Safeway for the past 7 years, and who up until yesterday had had near perfect 20/20 vision, says the historic achievement and the undoubted tourism boom that will result from this new landmark will “more than make up” for never being able to see his kids again.
Other neighbours who have yet to lose their vision, say an unexpected benefit of the revamped store is that most will never need to use lighting in their apartments anymore, saving a fortune on electricity bills.
However, some local residents have complained, prompting Safeway to respond by releasing a 72-point action plan for the local community on how best to operate on 15 minutes sleep per night and also how to counter the effects of mild to severe radiation poisoning.
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